Rack for the storage of skis in pairs

ABSTRACT

Apparatus for the storage of skis in pairs, comprising a support rail and clamping assemblies mounted on the support rail to enable distortion-free clamping of the skis at their points of contact near their tips and ends when placed together in a soleto-sole relationship. Each of the clamping assemblies comprises a movable slide having clamping arms connected thereto in a substantially perpendicular direction from the support rail with the clamping arms supporting rocking arms having wheels at each end. The wheels are pressed onto the surface of the skis when the skis are clamped in the desired position.

United States Patent lnventor Alfred Nikolaus KinshoferAlbert-Schweitzer-Strasse 4, 816 Miesbach, Germany Appl. No. 797,768

Filed Feb. 10, 1969 Patented Mar. 16,1971

Priority Feb. 9, 1968 Germany P 16 78 268.6

RACK FOR THE STORAGE OF SKIS IN PAIRS Primary Examiner-Nile C. Byers,Jr. Attorney-Fleit, Gipple & Jacobson ABSTRACT: Apparatus for thestorage of skis in pairs, comprising a support rail and clampingassemblies mounted on the support rail to enable distortion-freeclamping of the skis at their points of contact near their tips and endswhen placed together in a sole-to-sole relationship. Each of theclamping assemblies comprises a movable slide having clamping armsconnected thereto in a substantially perpendicular direction from thesupport rail with the clamping arms supporting rocking arms havingwheels at each end. The wheels are pressed onto the surface of the skiswhen the skis are clamped in the desired position.

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' sum 3 or 3 par/um M Kim H m! PTTORIVEyJ RACK FOR THE STORAGE F SKIS INPAIRS The present invention generally relates to ski storage apparatusand particularly relates to apparatus for the storage of skis in pairs.

Up to now no methods or apparatus have been developed for a suitable andtechnically reasonable storage of skis which at the same time will saveroom and costs. The object of the present invention is to provideapparatus for the storage of skis in pairs in order to solve the aboveproblem.

The ski storage apparatus of the present invention generally comprisesmovable clamping assemblies which are positioned along a support rail toclamp ski sections in place, means for maintaining the ski tip profilesand means for adjusting the distance between the center section of theclamped pair of skis.

The storage rack according to the invention is characterized by clampingassemblies fitted to a support rail allowing distortion-free clamping ofthe skis at their points of contact near their tips and ends, when puttogether sole to sole. According to the invention, the support rail mayconsist of section material, e.g. of a V-channel section in which theclamping assemblies provided with locking means are located and aremovable along the V-shaped channel section. The clamping assemblies mayconsist of a slide having swivel type clamping means movable within alongitudinal slot of the V-shaped channel section and lockable in thedesired position. The clamping assemblies are fitted to the support railnormal to its longitudinal centerline, with an adjusting and clampingbolt being provided for adjusting the position of the clamping armsrelative to each other and/or clamping angle which joins the twoclamping arms of a clamping assembly. This bolt can be adjusted by meansof a nut, preferably a wing nut.

The adjusting and clamping bolt can preferably have the form of a headedbolt with rubber washer or cup springs being provided between the headand one clamping arm on the one side and an adjusting nut and the secondclamping arm on the other side. The clamping arms forming the clampingassemblies may have rocker arms, comprising two arms each, parallel toeach other and movable about their central axis running parallel to thelongitudinal centerline of the support rail, which are joined togetherby the axles of plastic wheels contacting the surface of the skis whenthe latter are in the stored position. Thus the skis can be clampeddistortion-free, since the rocker arms would compensate any existing orpossible distortion. This arrangement offers a great advantage, since itis not necessary to specify close manufacturing tolerances for theparallism of the edges of the V-shaped channel section, nor must it beabsolutely free from distortion, thus enabling an economical manufactureof the storage rack invention. As an alternative, the rocker arms couldbe replaced by pads of elastic material such as caoutchouc, syntheticrubber or foam rubber on the inner side of the clamping arms which wouldserve the same purpose.

Another embodiment of the invention provides for a device on the supportrail for maintaining the ski tip profile. This deviceshould preferablyconsist of a cylinder, arranged in line with the gap between theclamping assemblies and normal to the longitudinal centerline of thesupport rail. In this case, the bottom sides of the ski tips are forcedagainst the cylinder which would hold them in a certain positionrelative to each other and thus under a certain tension. The device formaintaining the ski tip profile, however, can also have the form of astop plate normal to the longitudinal centerline of the support rail,against which the ski tips are forced.

For the adjustment of the center section tension of the two skis clampedin the storage rack, an infinitely adjustable tensioning cam may beprovided on the support rail, featuring a locking device being arrangedbetween the clamped pair of skis, so that their distance from each otherin the center section and thus their center section tension can bevaried. The tensioning cam can be retained in the desired position byfriction but it would also be possible to lock the tensioning cam in thedesired position by tightening a butterfly bolt. In order to avoid anyscratches on the skis between the clamping assemblies, the adjusting andclamping bolt can be provided with a plastic sleeve over the sectionwhere it is in contact with the skis.

The storage rack according to the invention can be used where ever skismust be stored, eg in private households, in hotels of winter sportcenters or in sports shops. The adjustability of the clamping assembliesas provided allows an adaption of the device according to the inventionto any ski length, a feature which is of particular advantage. The skiscan easily be stored in a proper manner by just pushing them between theclamping arms and will not touch the ground with their rear ends whichmay have an adverse effect over a long period. Moreover, it should bepointed out that the device according to the invention can be combinedwith a burglaryproof device, e.g. by connecting the clamping arms of oneor both clamping assemblies of the device according to the invention bya latch and engaging a suitable lock so that the pair of skis cannot betaken out without opening the lock.

In the following a description of an embodiment of the device accordingto the invention is given in conjunction with the drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an embodiment of the device according tothe invention with the skis in the stored position.

FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional transverse view normal to thelongitudinal centerline of the support rail of an embodiment of theclamping assembly according to the invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic sectional view of an embodiment of the clampingassembly according to the invention in the direction of the longitudinalcenterline of the support rail.

The illustrated embodiment of the device according to the inventioncomprises a V-shaped channel section 1 having mounting lugs or mountingplates 18 allowing horizontal or vertical mounting to 21, wall. TheV-shaped channel section has a longitudinal guide slot serving as a railwhich receives the slide 4 of the clamping assemblies 2. The clampingassemblies 2 are movable along the guide slot where the slide can besecured in any desired position by means of a screw 19 acting upon aback plate 20 located within the V-channel section. Clamping arms 5 and5 are connected to slide 4 through swiveling bearings 6 and are arrangednormal to the longitudinal centerline of the V-shaped channel section.The clamping arms consist of two plates 21, 21', arranged one above theother and are connected by a pin with rocker arms 10 and 10 located inbetween the plates. The rocker arms are free to move about theconnecting pin 15 of the said plates. The rocker arms consist of twostrips of material l6, 16, arranged one above the other and connected bythe axles l7 and 17 of plastic wheels 11. The two clamping arms 5 and 5'are joined together by adjusting and clamping bolt 7 allowing anadjustment of the clamping angle by means of adjusting nut 9. Betweenhead 8 of clamping bolt 7 and one clamping arm 5 and adjusting nut 9 andthe other clamping arm 5 rubber washers or cup springs 22, 22 areprovided respectively, so that the clamping assembly is free for aspring-type action within a certain range. Where the clamping bolt mightcontact the skis 3, 3', a plastic sleeve 14 is provided, preventing anydamage to the skis.

The embodiment of the invention as shown in FIG. I also features adevice for maintaining the ski tip profile, consisting of a cylinder 12forced against the bottom sides of the ski tips, so that a tensioncounteracting the center section tension of the clamped skis isproduced. Moreover, the described embodiment of the device according tothe invention features a tension cam 13 for controlling the centersection tension of the clamped skis. As already mentioned, thistensioning cam 13 might be locked in the desired position, for exampleby means of a butterfly screw.

In the above description of the present invention a support rail ofV-channel section was used, since this embodiment offers both highrigidity and economy in manufacture. The clamping assembly according tothe invention, however, can also be used in conjunction with a supportrail of different section, e. g. flush mounted with the wall.

Iclaim:

1. Apparatus for the storage of skis in pairs, comprising a support railand clamping assemblies mounted on said support rail to enable thedistortion-free clamping of skis at their points of contact near theirtips and ends when placed together in a sole-to-sole relationship, eachclamping assembly comprising a movable slide, clamping arms connected tosaid slide substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction ofthe support rail, rocker arms supported on said clamping arms, andwheels mounted at the ends of said rocker arms, said wheels beingpressed onto the surface of the skis when the skis are clamped inposition.

2. Apparatus according to claim ll characterized in that the supportrail has a V-shaped. channel section to receive the clamping assemblies,each of said clamping assemblies being movable along the centerline ofthe support rail and lockable in any position.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1 characterized in that the support raildefines a longitudinal slot and each clamping assembly is movable alongthe longitudinal slot of the support rail and is free to swivel, eachclamping assembly has an adjusting and clamping bolt provided foradjusting the position of the clamping arms of said clamping assemblyrelative to each other, said bolt being adjusted by means of a nut.

4. Apparatus according to claim 3 characterized in that the adjustmentand clamping bolt has the form of a head bolt having washers providedbetween the head and one clamping arm on the one side and the adjustingnut and the other clamping arm on the other side.

5. Apparatus according to claim 4, wherein cup springs are substitutedfor washers.

6. Apparatus according to claim 4 characterized in that the adjustmentand clamping bolt has a plastic sleeve over the section where it maycontact the skis.

7. Apparatus according to claim 1 characterized in that said rocker armsare in the form of two parallel arms and a center pivot pininterconnecting said arms for pivotal movement thereabout, said rockerarms being joined together by axles of wheels which are pressed onto thesurface of the skis when clamped in position.

8. Apparatus according to claim 1 characterized in that the clampingarms have pads of elastic material on their inner side.

9. Apparatus according to claim 1 characterized in that the support railhas a device for maintaining the ski tip profile, said device comprisinga cylinder arranged in line with the gap between the clamping assembliesand normal to the longitudinal centerline of the support rail.

10. Apparatus according to claim 1 characterized in that an infinitelyvariable and lockable tensioning cam is fitted to the support rail, saidcam being located between the two skis clamped in position, allowing anadjustment of the distance between the two skis in their center sectionsand thus the adjustment of their center section tension.

1. Apparatus for the storage of skis in pairs, comprising a support railand clamping assemblies mounted on said support rail to enable thedistortion-free clamping of skis at their points of contact near theirtips and ends when placed together in a soleto-sole relationship, eachclamping assembly comprising a movable slide, clamping arms connected tosaid slide substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction ofthe support rail, rocker arms supported on said clamping arms, andwheels mounted at the ends of said rocker arms, said wheels beingpressed onto the surface of the skis when the skis are clamped inposition.
 2. Apparatus according to claim 1 characterized in that thesupport rail has a V-shaped channel section to receive the clampingassemblies, each of said clamping assemblies being movable along thecenterline of the support rail and lockable in any position. 3.Apparatus according to claim 1 characterized in that the support raildefines a longitudinal slot and each clamping assembly is movable alongthe longitudinal slot of the support rail and is free to swivel, eachclamping assembly has an adjusting and clamping bolt provided foradjusting the position of the clamping arms of said clamping assemblyrelative to each other, said bolt being adjusted by means of a nut. 4.Apparatus according to claim 3 characterized in that the adjustment andclamping bolt has the form of a head bolt having washers providedbetween the head and one clamping arm on the one side and the adjustingnut and the other clamping arm on the other side.
 5. Apparatus accordingto claim 4, wherein cup springs are substituted for washers. 6.Apparatus according to claim 4 characterized in that the adjustment andclamping bolt has a plastic sleeve over the section where it may contactthe skis.
 7. Apparatus according to claim 1 characterized in that saidrocker arms are in the form of two parallel arms and a center pivot pininterconnecting said arms for pivotal movement thereabout, said rockerarms being joined together by axles of wheels which are pressed onto thesurface of the skis when clamped in position.
 8. Apparatus according toclaim 1 characterized in that the clamping arms have pads of elasticmaterial on their inner side.
 9. Apparatus according to claim 1characterized in that the support rail has a device for maintaining theski tip profile, said device comprising a cylinder arranged in line withthe gap between the clamping assemblies and normal to the longitudinalcenterline of the support rail.
 10. Apparatus according to claim 1characterized in that an infinitely variable and lockable tensioning camis fitted to the support rail, said cam being located between the twoskis clamped in position, allowing an adjustment of the distance betweenthe two skis in their center sections and thus the adjustment of theircenter section tension.